October 1987 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | October 7, 1987 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 1.0189 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.0095 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 146 (9 of 72) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 253 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, October 7, 1987, with an umbral magnitude of −0.0095. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. Occurring about 3.1 days after perigee (on October 4, 1987, at 1:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.